Free
by Shinyzenith
Summary: Sometimes, doing something bad can lead to something good. Sometimes, you have to get in a bigger mess before you can get out.


**Free**

A dark green skull with a snake protruding from its mouth hung ominously in the sky above the highest tower of Hogwarts. Inside was one old man, and two teenage boys. One of the boys, Harry, was invisible. Hidden from the other boy, beneath his invisibility cloak, and frozen in place by Dumbledore, the old man.

The other boy, Draco, had just disarmed Dumbledore, and was now preparing to kill him. Dumbledore himself was very tired and weak, but seemed quite at ease with the whole situation.

Two brooms lay discarded on the floor.

"Who else is here?" Draco stared at the second broom.

"It's Potter, isn't it?" Not letting Dumbledore interrupt, he put a few steps towards the invisible Harry.

"It's always Potter," Draco spat bitterly. "But now, it's my turn. This time, he won't stop me."

Draco then slowly pointed his wand at Dumbledore, and after an moment of absolute silence, spoke the unforgiveable words.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A jet of green light burst forth from his wand, hitting the weakened Dumbledore straight in his chest, causing him to fully slump to the floor, dead.

He had done it.

For one very long second, there was silence. The wind seemed to calm. His breathing seemed to have stopped. The sounds of battle from downstairs had died away completely.

Then, a shout. "No!"

Draco was startled and froze for an instant. This was all the opening Harry needed to disarm Draco and quickly put a full-body-bind on him.

As he lay on the floor, unable to move anything except his eyes, Draco could admit to himself he was afraid of the angry Gryffindor.

Harry took several menacing steps towards Draco. He looked to be somewhere between shock and absolute fury.

"Why?" he shouted. "What did he ever do to you?"

Harry pointed his wand threateningly at Draco, looking ready to curse him. After a few tense seconds Harry seemed to realize that Draco couldn't say anything, he was immobilized, after all, so he freed him from the body-bind.

The first thing Draco did when he was released, was scramble backwards until he hit a wall. Then, because there was nowhere to run, he opened his mouth out of habit, to talk himself to safety.

"He was an old fool! He deserved what he got!" After realizing what he had said, Draco pushed himself closer to the stone wall.

"He was a great man!" Harry shouted. "And you killed him! I should kill you!"

Draco threw up his hands in defence, even though he knew it wouldn't defend against what came next. But, nothing came. He looked up again to see Harry lowering his wand.

"Why?" Harry asked, several silent tears running down his face.

"I- I had to," Draco found himself saying. "They would've killed my mum."

"You should've told him. He could've helped you!"

"No. He couldn't have helped me. There was nothing he could do that would keep my family alive, except to die!"

Harry raised his wand again, as if to curse Draco.

"Get out," he said. "Just go. And you better hope I never see you again."

Draco looked incredulously at Harry for a moment, before he quickly grabbed his wand from the floor, and ran out the door, whispering an inaudible thank you as he descended the stairs.

It was many months later when Draco and Harry came eye to eye once more. Harry and his friends had been working hard to collect and destroy Voldemort's horcruxes. But it hadn't been going very well.

In their search they had managed to get captured by snatchers. It was then that they were taken to Malfoy manor.

Harry's face had been disfigured by a spell, done by one of his friends so he wouldn't be recognised. He was the most wanted person in the country, after all. It was then that Lucius Malfoy called his son, Draco, to see whether he actually was Harry Potter.

Looking closely, Draco recognised Harry. After looking at his face for a minute, and gathering his courage, he stood up and spoke.

"I don't think it's Potter," he said. Expecting to be called out on his lie, to be punished. Bu to his greatest surprise, he wasn't. His parents and aunt seemed to believe him.

Harry wouldn't be let go. But at least he was safe from Voldemort.

Afterwards, while his aunt was torturing the mudblood, he couldn't save her from that fate, she was easily recognised, Draco would wonder why he had done it. In the end, he decided that, perhaps, his parents were wrong.

He had learned over the past years that serving Voldemort wasn't quite as glorious as he had always been told. Draco wanted out. He wanted to join the Order of the Phoenix. He wanted to help defeat Voldemort. Even if it meant fighting his own family, his own mother.

It was just as he arrived at that conclusion, that he heard a loud noise come from downstairs. Where his aunt was having her fun. But it wasn't the sound of someone screaming, like usual, it was the sound of something breaking instead.

Quickly rushing downstairs, he found the sitting room in chaos. Somehow, Potter, who was now easy to recognise, had escaped together with his sidekick. And they were trying to free the mudblood. Somehow, the huge chandelier had also dropped from the ceiling, spraying everything in small glass fragments.

Deciding he might as well change sides right that moment, he turned to his aunt, Bellatrix.

"Draco! It is Harry Potter! How could you have missed!" she shouted. Sounding insane, which she probably was. His aunt had always intimidated him. But now he just lifted his wand and stunned her before she could do more than look surprised.

In the following confusion, Harry and his friends managed to incapacitate Draco's parents and the remaining snatchers.

Then, they came to stand in front of each other. Neither side knowing what to do.

"What was that about, Malfoy?" Harry asked, looking suspicious.

"I just… I want to fight against Voldemort. I think he's wrong. Could I… join you?"

Weasley looked like he wanted to say something, but the mud- muggleborn shut him up with a look. They both turned to Harry after that.

"Well, after what you just did, the least we could do is get you to safety," Harry said, as he offered his hand.

Draco took it at the same time that the muggleborn grabbed Weasley's arm. There was a brief, suffocating sensation, and Draco was free.


End file.
